Quality monitoring in manufacturing operations is generally used to ensure compliance with set standards. Systems and processes that incorporate quality control can provide high quality products and high yields, subsequently leading to increased efficiency.
In the food packaging industry, quality is often associated with how well containers perform. Containers that either hold, transport or store ingestible items are expected to perform or resist damage from a variety of internal and external conditions, and protect the foodstuff or liquid contained inside. Coatings are often applied to metal substrates to impart barrier properties, stain resistance, corrosion resistance, oxidation resistance and/or to enhance aesthetic value. These coatings are relied upon to ensure that the food or liquid inside the container are not contaminated by any metal by-products.
It would be desirable to have methods and systems capable of measuring the extent of cure of a coating that can easily be integrated into manufacturing operations to ensure proper protection and optimally infallible coverage of a coating on metal substrates. For containers that hold potentially corrosive material such as food or liquids, for example, it would be advantageous to know the extent of cure prior to filling the container with foodstuff. In addition to quality assurances, methods and systems for measuring the extent of cure at locations such as for example, immediately after exposure to elevated temperature, can help a manufacturing process operate efficiently to reduce defective materials and provide higher yields.